


the choices we make (and the ones the universe does)

by wildheartly



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Badass Katara (Avatar), Canon Divergence, F/M, Katara - Freeform, Not Canon Compliant, Slow Burn, this is me rewriting avatar because i can
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:08:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28455117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildheartly/pseuds/wildheartly
Summary: She almost breaks him when she touches his scar for the first time.Or: au where Zuko joins the gaang before the day of the black sun.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Kudos: 32





	the choices we make (and the ones the universe does)

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will take some time to be updated but that's because I want to have most of it ready when I finally start updating more regularly!! It's a very complex fic and MANY things diverge from canon. Also: zutara is the main ship, so it will be the one with most development, but it's not the most important part of the plot!! Every character has their own arc!! I really hope you guys enjoy this, it's been living rent free in my mind for a loooooong time!

She almost breaks him when she touches his scar for the first time. 

He can feel cracks forming on the surface. The hurt and darkness and sorrows that he kept hidden threatening to spill on the floor, right in front of her. He isn’t sure if he would rather pull away or push harder into her touch.

Would she run away from his darkened pieces? Or would her kindness not let her even bat an eye at it?

She offers him a chance at a new beginning - a life without a constant reminder of his dishonour and weakness and, looking at the light reflecting on her eyes, he feels deep in his core that she is not a runner.

He closes his eyes and opens his mouth to let the words forming on the back of his throat pour out.  _ Yes, yes, yes. Please let me be rid of this mark. Let me begin again. _

There’s a loud crash, the words die behind his teeth. He can no longer feel the warmth of her hands on his skin.

* * *

  
  


His sister offers him a second chance and, for a second, he thinks of another offer, one much harder to take. But he has wanted to go home for so long and it’s finally within reach. He can imagine his father's eyes, looking at him with pride they never held before.

But now he has a choice. He can choose to stay. He can take another path.

He thinks of his scarred face and the uncountable mistakes he can never take back. 

He asks himself how he could have ever thought that  _ she _ could forgive him.

His feet and arms shift to the side. 

_ The right choice. The  _ right  _ choice. This is my destiny and I can not run from it. _

The look in her eyes will haunt him to his end, he thinks.

  
  


* * *

  
  


When she falls asleep, images of another war plague her mind.

Her hands reach for someone she can’t see. A yell begins to form in the back of her throat, but, before it can make it’s way out, something hard hits the back of her head.

She wakes up drenched in sweat, a dreadful feeling settling at the pit of her stomach.

  
  


* * *

  
  


He lays down on his luxurious bed, feeling put off by its softness. He turns around time and time again, trying his hardest to feel comfortable but he can’t. Not when Azula is right across the hall. Not when his father looks at him with that look in his eyes. 

Not when he has this voice inside his head telling him that he just made the worst mistake of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! Kudos, comments and thoughts are welcome <3


End file.
